iTunes Review

The Chicago sibling duo Wild Belle crafts alluring, female-fronted indie pop with a heavily reverberated dub reggae filter. Natalie Bergman coos in cool and unaffected inflections, sounding at times like a young Deborah Harry (by way of Karen Dalton). Taking on the role of the wizard behind the curtain, Natalie’s brother Elliot explores the space between modern and organic sounds and textures, creating something equally anchored in both realms. “Keep You” opens Wild Belle’s eponymous 2012 EP with a head-nodding buoyancy as distorted horns and surf-toned guitars go head-to-head with subtle electro flourishes and looped ambience. The following number, “It’s Too Late,” plays with quirky indie-reggae accouterments reminiscent of Future Pigeon’s 2001 debut album, Golden State of Dub. But in addition to the various ska-tinged bits like Farfisa organ and saxophone, Elliot adds new wave gloss that recalls moments of the 2-Tone label’s heyday. Having paid dues in the Ann Arbor, Mich., band Nomo, Elliot now imports his love for Afrobeat and Caribbean instrumentation into the bookending tune “Backslider.”

Customer Reviews

SO GOOD!

by
Corey Deleon

Have been looking forward to an album from this band. First saw them at SXSW and they put on an incredible show. This album doesn't disappoint!

Super

by
EDGAR RAFAEL CAMPOS TORRES

Perfect union between jazz and roots, very cool voice can't wait for the LP

Buy this!!

by
Wild about wild belle

Saw them at hideout block party and couldn't wait for album to come out. Thanks for giving us a preview! Love all three songs.

Biography

Formed: 2011 in Chicago, IL

Genre: Pop

Years Active: '10s

Brother-and-sister duo Wild Belle make folk-, dance-, reggae-, and psychedelic rock-tinged indie pop. Chicago-area natives Elliot and Natalie Bergman grew up playing music, with Elliot eventually studying jazz saxophone at the University of Michigan. The siblings first started playing together in 2006, when Elliot invited Natalie to tour as a backup singer/percussionist with his Afro-pop band NOMO. In 2011, they began working on Natalie's songs and Wild Belle was born. A year later, the duo released...